Drew Brees
"Peyton and Drew have this idea of giving back that's in their DNA," said Rick Larsen, president of national children's charity Operation Kids.
The Breeses have impacted 10,000 New Orleans children, including 1,506 at Lusher Charter School, where Brees Family Field was dedicated in October after an $800,000 donation by Brees and Brittany.
And as far as heroes, the city has been given one in the form of QB Drew Brees. Brees has been involved in the city’s recovery efforts since his arrival in 2006. Along with his wife, Brittany, he founded the Brees Dream Foundation, which has formed a partnership with Operation Kids in New Orleans to help restore educational and recreational spaces in the city.
Drew and Brittany’s Brees Dream Foundation announced a partnership in 2007 with international children’s charity Operation Kids, to rebuild and restore academic and athletic facilities, parks and playgrounds, after-school programs, mentoring programs for the intellectually disabled, neighborhood revitalization projects and child care facilities in New Orleans.
No Super Bowl-bound player has energized a city like quarterback Drew Brees has energized New Orleans. Much ado has been made about Drew’s on-field success and his charity work. However, few articles have detailed the extent of his philanthropic endeavors. It is more than just a donation or an athletic field. It is an investment in a whole city’s children.
Without hesitation, Brees and his wife partnered with Operation Kids – an organization devoted to rebuilding academic and athletic facilities, after-school and mentoring programs, and helped restore parks and playgrounds for the children of New Orleans. The people of New Orleans are so thankful for his contributions that they named him Grand Marshal of the Bacchus Parade, which is held 2 days before the start of Mardi Gras.
Strengthening the bond is what so many Saints have done as the city struggled to find daylight in the battle back.
The Brees Dream Foundation teamed up with Operation Kids and Advocates for the Arts to grant nearly $1 million to construct Brees Family Field at Lusher Charter School, and when the quarterback saw the athletes there needed a new weight room, he donated another $38,000 out of his own pocket to get it done.
Brees Family Field is a sparkling, nearly $1 million multipurpose gem that was a joint project of The Brees Dream Foundation, Operation Kids and Advocates for the Arts.
The field sits between classroom buildings filled by 1,560 students at Lusher Charter School, where Brees and his wife donated an additional $38,000 for a new weight room.
That is why [Drew & Brittany Brees] have teamed up with Operation Kids - through their Brees Dream Foundation - to rebuild New Orleans in the ways that matter most to kids.
Companies and organizations like the National Alliance on Mental Illness (a favorite of Hugh Laurie’s), Operation Kids (partnered with Drew Brees to help rebuild New Orleans with kids in mind) ... are just a few of the programs included in the GoodSearch.com database.
"Nothing could have worked out better than it has here," said [Drew] Brees, who has made his presence felt both on the field and off [in New Orleans].
He took a break from lighting up opposing defenses Tuesday when he and his wife, Brittany, attended the dedication of the Brees Family Field at Lusher Charter School, which was renovated through funding from the Brees Dream Foundation and Operation Kids.
